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Aruba Switches vs Extreme VDX [EOL] comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Switches
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (2nd)
Extreme VDX [EOL]
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Eunice Thirikwa - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable hotel networking enhances return on investment with valuable modular features
There are issues with the distribution side of Aruba Switches. For instance, the distributor in our country cannot sell to neighboring countries, creating complications in project execution. Improving the distribution network across regions would be beneficial. Also, the SFP modules are significantly more expensive than industry peers, which affects cost-effectiveness.
Osama Ahmed LUBBAD - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable, scalable, and problem-free solution
Software needs to be updated regularly in order to maintain security and performance. However, in some cases, it is necessary to stack switches in order to meet the needs of the network. Although Cisco switches are able to stack, other switches are not as simple to stack. I would like the ability to stack with different switch brands.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Aruba Switches is security."
"The speed of the processor allows for quicker boot-up times compared to Cisco switches."
"Aruba offers better options when it comes to the area of scalability compared to what Cisco offers. Aruba has a better graphical user interface that helps users with the configuration part."
"Licensing costs are competitive with other solutions on the market."
"We didn't experience any stability or scalability issues until now with Aruba Switches"
"With Aruba, I like its stability and lifetime warranty."
"We can scale as needed."
"I like the number of available throughputs and its ability to have different speeds of ethernet cards or fiber-optic SFPs. It's a core switch, and you can configure it as per your requirements. All the configuration details are well documented on the HP website or Aruba website, and one can easily refer to those and find all the relevant commands from the documentation itself. It's also easy to maintain this solution. It's also cheaper than competing products."
"The fabric of the solution and the management aspect are the solution's most valuable features."
"The most valuable feature of Extreme VDX is that we have had no problems and the solution's performance is excellent."
"Its simplicity and web interface were most valuable. I also liked the two-factor authentication."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement in the pricing because the Aruba Central licenses add a high cost."
"I have some security issues with Aruba Switches. I need to update the firmware and then the problems might go away."
"The licensing model could be improved."
"Aruba should be made more user-friendly."
"Aruba's switches are older so I'd like to see more upgrades. The newer ones may have that built-in. The product could be more user-friendly."
"Aruba does not have local support in our region of Kerala."
"I would say that the customization of the switches could be easier to configure."
"The initial setup is not easy."
"The only problem is that at the moment it's an Extreme product and Extreme is not really pushing it. They have to make up for weak innovation and I'm not sure if they want to do that."
"Its scalability can be better. If possible, it can have Hyper POE. I am not sure if there is a fiber version."
"I would like the ability to stack with different switch brands."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I am paying for the hardware and Aruba Central licenses, but I would like a version of Aruba Central to come out with a light version with a few features turned off. Ubiquiti and other vendors have free tools. I believe they're looking at that, but it's not out yet. I hope they will release that to make it competitive because I'm using an enterprise-class switch for small businesses. We're looking for some of those capabilities, but not all of them."
"Aruba Switches has a lifetime warranty on the solution and after five years the solution will be at its end of life."
"This is an expensive product, costing about double what most competitors do."
"Aruba Switches are less expensive than Cisco."
"Typically it is a $500 to $600 difference in price."
"Cisco has a higher cost than Aruba Switches."
"Aruba's switches are priced lower than Cisco's by about 30%."
"The pricing was still affordable compared to Cisco, which is usually less affordable for most companies. We are using the solution in a school, we need the price to be affordable."
"It was around $1500 a year. It is cheaper than Cisco but more expensive than Ruckus."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
7%
Government
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Switches?
Aruba lives up to the expectations of the tech giant hewlett packard enterprise providing excellent networking capabilities at a very affordable price compared to the equivalent from another tech g...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Switches?
I find it to be middle to high. It's not always affordable, but they're losing the pricing market against Huawei, let's just put it like that.
What needs improvement with Aruba Switches?
There isn't much room for improvement. A more granular breakdown in debugging would be beneficial. Apart from that, not much is needed.
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Also Known As

8400 Series, 8320 Series, 5400R Series, 3810 Series, 2930M Series, 2930F Series, 2920 Series, 2540 Series, 2530 Series
VDX, Brocade VDX
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Purdue University
Niagra Falls Bridge Commission, Medien System Partner, CDE Lightband, MaximumASP
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Netgear and others in Ethernet Switches. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.